


Make It Out Alive

by Sholio



Category: Dark Matter (TV)
Genre: Appendicitis, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Snark, Team as Family, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 00:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12332187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sholio/pseuds/Sholio
Summary: Totally self-indulgent hurt/comfort. Being part of a team means having people who care about you, whether you want it or not. Set sometime after 2x11.





	Make It Out Alive

**Author's Note:**

> I'm watching seasons two and three of Dark Matter for the first time (just got through the end of S2 and into S3, AAAAA) and I have TOO MANY FEELINGS about Three and Five and this whole ridiculous dysfunctional space family. <3

It was his total shit luck, striking again. Sometimes Three thought he was the unluckiest guy in the whole damn galaxy ... though the bunch of jerks on the _Raza_ could probably give him a run for his money, some days.

"Three," Two's voice said in his ear. "Three, please respond."

He groaned and tried to straighten up. He'd been sick in this damn bathroom on this hell-hole planet for ... he wasn't even sure how long. Two hours? Something like that? At least he'd managed to dodge the group when his stomach started cramping, so he didn't have a bunch of idiots around to provide a running commentary on his bad luck with local cuisine.

He hadn't even eaten anything weird, was the unfair part. Hadn't eaten anything the rest of them hadn't, at least nothing he'd noticed. The only thing he could think was that it was some kind of food allergy. He'd been having issues with his stomach off and on for the last few days, nothing he couldn't handle, but this had come on fast and sudden, not like food poisoning. There'd been a weird spice in the stew, and he'd never had that pink fruit before ... that he could remember.

Wasn't like he could remember if he had any food allergies either.

"Three," Two said again.

He took a few deep breaths until he figured he had it under control, and keyed the comm. "Yeah."

"We're about to head back to the _Raza._ Wherever you got off to, meet us back at the Marauder."

A sharp bolt of pain rippled through his stomach, and he had to work to keep his tone casual. "Yeah, so, I got some things to take care of here first."

"What sort of things?" Her voice had an edge.

"Things," he said shortly. Like hell he was spending the ride back to the _Raza_ pukin' in a bag just because the boss lady had decided it made better security sense to spend the night on the ship instead of on the planet. "Look, we're not even leaving 'til tomorrow, right? I'll catch a ride back with some of the surface-to-station traffic or something."

"What are you up to, Three?" She sounded more curious than angry. Still, you'd think he'd've earned some goodwill by now, rather than getting the third degree, but no.

"Business. Nothing that concerns the rest of you." The red-hot poker jabbed his guts again. "Listen, I gotta go. Don't worry, I'll be back on the ship before you break orbit."

"Because it always ends well when one of us goes off alone," Two said dryly. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Everything's fine, I'm fine, just got some things to do. See you later. Three out." He jabbed off the comm and, for good measure, turned it off and dropped it in his pocket before he had to double over again.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when someone wandered in. This planet was one of the ones with communal toilets -- no privacy stalls, just a long row of facilities. Mixed genders, too. By that point Three was sitting on the filthy floor, leaning against the wall, wondering if it was worth trying to get up or if that'd just get him going again. He looked up at a flash of green hair and groaned.

"Th' hell are you doing here?"

"Two asked me to come find you and make sure you weren't in trouble." Five shoved her hands in her pockets and wrinkled her nose. "Are you drunk?"

"What? No," he snapped.

"You're sick, then?"

"Just ate somethin' that disagreed with me, that's all. Scram. Get on back to the Marauder before they leave without you."

Five carefully picked up the tails of the shirt tied around her waist to stop it from trailing on the floor as she crouched down near him. "They already did. You look awful. And you don't smell any better than you look."

He'd cracked open one eye to squint at her; now he opened both. "Whaddya mean, they already did?"

"I couldn't find you, so I told Two to go ahead and take off without us. I said I'd round you up and get us both back up to the ship." She glanced up as someone came in and scooted a little closer to him. "I've been checking every dive bar on this side of the spaceport."

"Glad to see you know me well." He grimaced at another stomach cramp, but at least his stomach seemed to have stopped trying to turn inside out. Five flinched back at his expression, and Three managed to muster up a sarcastic grin. "If getting puked on worries you, hate to break it to you, but you're in the wrong bathroom. So you found me. Go call a ride and get on back to the ship. I'll be up when I'm done."

"I'm more worried you'll sit here on this floor until you fall asleep and someone'll rob you. Or you'll turn out to have the plague or something."

"I don't have the plague. It's just food poisoning or an allergy or somethin'. Beat it, kid."

"How 'bout I go find us a cheap room and tell Two we're spending the night on the planet? It's better than sleeping in a bathroom."

"Sure, whatev -- Wait, whaddya mean, _us?"_

Her pensive, worried look faded into a grin. "You don't expect I'm going to leave you sick with the plague in a bathroom, do you?"

"Yes," he said, telling himself that the warm feeling wrapped around his insides was another symptom and not anything to do with his emotions. "Yes, I do expect that, 'cause I told you to leave."

"Too bad I don't have to do what you tell me, and Two already told me to keep an eye on you, so." She straightened up and brushed her hands off on her jacket, though she hadn't touched anything. "I'm gonna go find a room we can afford, okay?"

Three decided to go with the path of least resistance, tossed her a thumbs-up, and closed his eyes.

He actually _was_ almost asleep when small hands prodded at him. "C'mon, get up," Five said. When he cracked open his eyes, the first thing he saw was Five's small, worried face frowning down at him. Above her head, night had fallen outside the small, high windows of the bathroom. 

"You're hot. I think you're running a fever. I really hope whatever you have isn't contagious."

"It's not," he grumbled, pushing her away when she made an effort to help him walk. His legs were wobbly, but he managed to stand up straight. "Just need to get a good night's sleep, that's all."

"Yeah, well, the room's around the corner."

It turned out to be up two rickety flights of stairs, which he climbed by clinging to the railing and trying to pretend it didn't feel like someone was knifing him in the guts.

"You're really sick," Five said. "I should call Two."

"No," he snapped. "If I wanted her here, I'da called her myself." He stopped, leaning on the railing and panting. "What'd you tell her?"

"Just that I found you, but you couldn't come back right away, so I'd stay with you on the planet 'til you were ready to leave."

She was covering for him. That shouldn't have made him feel warm, either, but it did, in spite of how lousy he was feeling in general.

Five unlocked the door to a narrow, unheated room. Two small metal-framed beds were jammed in, and that was all, aside from a door at the far end that stood open to a toilet and shower.

"I made sure it had an attached bathroom," Five said. "Had to pay extra. You're paying me back for this, by the way."

"Course, whatever." He lurched over to the bathroom. "Probably didn't need to bother with the extra bed. Don't think I'm getting much sleep tonight."

She followed him, stubborn to the last. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want me to call Two? Or take you to a clinic or something?"

"No!" he said shortly, and shut the door in her face.

When he finally emerged a long time later, Five was just coming in the door, carrying a bag. The sound of carousing in the hallway could be heard until she shut the door, and then it could still be heard, except very slightly quieter. 

"Ain't safe, kid like you, runnin' around a place like this after dark," he snapped, sinking down onto the nearest bed. "If you get lost down here looking after my ass, Two's gonna tear me a new one."

Five dropped the bag on the bed next to him and sat down. "Don't worry, I won't go out again. I just needed to get you some things to make you feel better."

Feeling better sounded great. The pain came in waves, and while the urge to throw up had mostly passed, he still felt shaky and sick. "I hope some of it's whiskey," he said, mostly for show, since he didn't think he could stomach booze right now.

"Ewww. No." She pulled out a bottle and pushed it into his hands. "Electrolyte replacement drink." This was followed by a small, flat package. "Heating pad. It might make your stomach feel better if it's sore. Besides, it's freezing in here. And here's an injector preloaded with anti-nausea and fever meds. At least that's what the lady I bought it from said."

Three looked back and forth between the increasing pile of stuff in his lap and Five's earnest face, not quite sure how he felt about all of this. Those injectors weren't cheap. Between that and the room, she must've unloaded most of whatever cash she'd brought onto the planet with her.

"You're paying me back," she added, as if she knew what he was thinking.

"Yeah, next big score, it's all yours." He pressed the injector to his arm with a shaking hand, and idly hoped that she hadn't gotten taken for a ride; there better be something more useful in it than sugar water or something worse. It stung as it went in and he rubbed the injection site with his thumb.

"Drink. You're probably dehydrated. You're shivering."

"Yeah, that's 'cause it's freezing in here, like you pointed out." He took a cautious sip of the electrolyte swill and settled on the bed, wrapping the thin, scratchy blanket around himself.

He'd closed his eyes and started to drift when a small hand descended on his forehead. She jerked it back when he swatted at her, easily evading him.

"You're shivering, but you don't feel cold. I think you're still running a fever. I don't like this. How do you feel?"

"Better," he lied. The meds hadn't really had a chance to take effect yet, but his stomach still hurt like blazes.

Five sat on the other bed and chewed anxiously at her bottom lip.

"Kid," Three sighed. He made an effort to roll over -- _ow,_ bad idea -- and settled for turning his head. "I'm not gonna die. I just ate a bad piece of fruit or whatever. That stuff you got'll make me feel better, and we'll both be back on the _Raza_ in the morning with a funny story to tell about that one time you dragged me off a bathroom floor on a shitheap planet in the Outer Colonies. Maybe we'll add some GA goons or something to make it more exciting."

This made her smile, as he'd hoped, but the smile faded into a pensive frown almost immediately.

"I'm gonna get some sleep. Suggest you do too." After a moment, he added, "I do feel better, kinda." It was starting to be a little bit true.

"Yeah? I'm glad."

"Night, kid."

"Night," she said quietly, and reached to turn off the bare overhead bulb.

The next thing he knew, he was hot, way too hot, so hot he'd kicked off the covers, and someone was shaking him, and it fucking _hurt._ He came up swinging, except that hurt too, and he collapsed in a heap, shaking and trying to pull himself together. " _What?"_ he snapped furiously at the green-haired blur leaning over him, and then, as he began to collect himself: "Shit, kid. Did I hit you?"

"No, no, I'm fine." She was breathing hard, like she'd been running. He couldn't quite seem to focus on her; she kept blurring in and out. "Three -- Three, listen, wake up, this is important. Have you had your appendix out?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Oh. Yeah. That's true. Anyway, get up, get up." She tugged at him.

"Go away. I just wanna sleep."

"No. If you sleep, I'm afraid you're going to die. Come on, get up, _please._ I found an all-night clinic for you. It's not very far away. It's the one where I got the injector from. I told the lady my friend was really sick and described your symptoms and -- Three, come on, sit _up."_

She just wouldn't let him alone, prodding and tugging until he ended up swinging his legs off the bed and managed to sit up, very painfully, hunching over. 

"So where is this clinic," he grumbled hoarsely.

"It's about, uh, a few streets over?"

"Yay," he muttered.

Five helped him up. Things got kind of hazy after that. He was vaguely aware that he was leaning on her, but she was so tiny that it was sort of like having the world's smallest and most uncrutchlike crutch propping him up. Walking was unpleasant. Stairs were _very_ unpleasant. Falling down? Not so great.

Especially with Five ragging on him every step of the way. At one point he became aware she was talking to the _Raza_ on her comm, and tried to swipe it from her, but by then there were more than one of her, so he missed.

And then he was lying on his back, blinking up at a low ceiling draped with swatches of fabric that was very definitely _not_ on the _Raza._ His mouth tasted like something died in it. He was desperately thirsty.

"Three?" a low female voice, definitely not Five's, said from beside him.

He turned his head slowly to the side and squinted at a blur that gradually resolved into ... Two. Fan-fucking-tastic. But she was looking at him with an expression that he'd seen on her face only rarely, and usually when one of them had nearly died. The fact that she was looking at him like that right now didn't seem like a good sign.

"What time is it and where the hell am I?" he croaked out. His gaze traveled from her face, up to an IV stand next to him with a bag of fluids dangling from it, then to a curtain draped behind her, blocking off his view of any more of his surroundings.

"We're still on Kauren-3, and it's still night -- well, getting on toward morning now," Two said, her voice gentle. "We're in a portable street clinic, and you've just had surgery. They said you wouldn't stay under long. Actually, you should be able to get up and move around soon."

"Huh," he managed. He didn't really feel like doing anything except lying here. After a moment he focused on Two's face again. "Kid was right, huh?"

"If you mean about appendicitis, yes, she was right." Two prodded his shoulder. "Come on, sit up. They gave you an injection of short-lifespan healing nanites at the surgical site, and said it'd help them do their job if you move around a little."

"I just freakin' had surgery, what the hell," he complained, but he let her help him sit up and swing his legs off the bed, discovering in the process that he was wearing nothing except a hospital gown and a blanket. "Hey, where'd my clothes go?"

"There." Two pointed with her free hand to a heap of gray fabric, black leather, and gun holsters on a chair next to the one she'd been sitting on. Her other hand rested on his shoulder, firm and strong, steadying him. "You know, the doctor said you would most likely have already been feeling lousy for a few days, considering the rough shape you were in when Five brought you here."

"Just a little under the weather. Didn't really matter."

She gripped his shoulder and shook him lightly, reminding him how strong the boss lady was. "You're a member of this crew. You're one of us. It matters."

Three looked up at her. "Says the lady who collapsed on the floor of her quarters because she wouldn't tell the rest of us her nanites were acting up."

Two's lips twisted in a rueful smile. "Fine, so it's a case of do as I say, not as I do. Still, just between you and me, Five sounded a little frantic when she called me, so at least don't give her too much cause for concern, will you?"

Great, now he felt guilty. "Where is the kid, anyway?"

"Me? Here? Hi! They said you were awake." Five popped in through the curtain, hesitating as soon as she was inside. "Do you mind visitors?"

"If it's the person who dragged my sweaty ass halfway across town and saved my life? .... Sure."

"Ewwww." Five broke out in a sunny grin and plunked down on the end of the bed next to him. With Two on his other side, he was positively boxed in. Strangely, he didn't mind. 

"That's another one you owe me, you know," Five said, the corners of her mouth turning up in that way they did when she was trying not to smile.

"Oh, we're keeping count now?"

"Of course we are. Plus, you owe me sixty bars for the room --"

"You paid sixty bars for that shithole? We gotta work on your negotiating tactics, kiddo."

"-- and fifty-three bars for the med supplies."

"Not to mention the actual cost of your surgery and hospitalization," Two said lightly. Her hand was still a steady pressure on his shoulder, constant and reliable.

Three directed his scowl at her, because he wasn't entirely sure he could meet Five's sparkling eyes and keep a straight face. "You all are charging me for getting sick. At least wait 'til I'm back on my feet before you start extorting me."

"Hey," Five said, nudging him. He glanced at her. She'd dropped her head and was looking at him sideways, fiddling with her hands in her lap. "How do you feel? Really?"

For a moment he couldn't stop himself from looking at it from her point of view. He must've been a mess ... was probably still a mess, really. His memories of the later part of the evening were fragmentary, but he knew she'd dragged his feverish, half-delirious self out of that low-rent room while he was collapsing on her and probably scaring her half out of her mind.

"I'm gonna be okay, kid," he told her, nudging her back.

"You'd better." She smiled a bit tremulously. "You owe me money."

"Is that all you ever think about?"

"Aren't you the one always saying you're a bad influence on me?"

He laughed; he couldn't help it, because he really did feel one hell of a lot better than earlier, even dragged-out and achy and tired as he was. Five giggled and looked down, and even Two was smiling --

\-- though she took advantage of the opportunity to neatly disconnect the IV from the back of his hand. 

"Ow," he said, looking at her reproachfully as she pressed a thumb to the drop of blood welling on his skin.

"You're done with it," she said, nodding to the flat bag hanging from the IV stand. "You need to get up and moving around. Get the nanites working."

Five hopped up and draped a blanket over his shoulders as Two helped him down from the bed. It was humiliating to be this weak. Having gone through it a time or two before -- being shot, say -- didn't make it any easier to deal with.

But ... it was also hard not to think about how, if it wasn't for this kid here, trailing him with a fist in a corner of the blanket to stop it falling off his shoulders -- if it wasn't for both of them, really, he'd be lying in that cheap flophouse room in a puddle of his own sweat 'til he died an unpleasant and humiliating death.

Or some other cheap flophouse room somewhere, or in a berth on the _Raza_ , surrounded by people who didn't care enough to even go and check on him. 

What really mattered was that before the memory wipe -- before meeting these people all over again -- no one had cared about him beyond what he could do for them, how much money he could make for them.

Well ... not since his parents, at least from what Five had said. But it wasn't like he remembered them anyway.

And he'd been the sort of bastard who deserved that kind of friends, so it all evened out anyway.

"You're awfully quiet," Two said. "Unusually for you."

"Are you in pain?" Five asked anxiously.

"Could maybe stop for a minute," he admitted. 

Two eased him down onto a chair. Gentle, when she wanted to be. He grinned up at her briefly. The frustrating thing was ... he didn't really have words to thank them for this kind of thing. Saving each other's lives in a firefight -- that was normal, almost, or getting to be. Comrades in arms, covering each other's backs.

But hanging around to help him when he was sick ...

He didn't know how to deal with that.

Didn't know why they thought he deserved it.

But here they were.

"If you think you can get dressed and walk a short way," Two said, "it's not far to the Marauder, and we have better medical supplies on the _Raza_ than they do here."

"Yeah, sure." He took a deep breath, got himself together, and reached for the stained gray T-shirt from the heap of clothing on the chair next door. "Just gimme a minute and we can hit the road." Looking up, he added, eyebrows raised, "Privately?"

"Ah," Two said. "Right." She spun around to duck through the curtain.

"Though you can stay if you want."

"Not just at the moment." She smiled back at him, a smile filled with the warmth she spent so much of her life hiding, and let the curtain fall back into place behind her.

Five hesitated, and then her arms settled lightly around his shoulders, green hair brushing his cheek -- the briefest of hugs, hardly touching him at all.

"I thought we agreed you weren't gonna go soft on me, kid," he said, but he reached up an arm to squeeze her wrist briefly.

"I'm not," she said promptly, but she wiped her sleeve across her face, stifling a tiny sniffle. "I still expect you to pay me back."

"Which I will. Later!"

The sniffle turned into a smile that was a little shaky around the edges, flashed back over her shoulder, as she followed Two.

Yeah, it was weird to have people worry about him like that.

And he wouldn't change a damn thing, not for anything in any vault in the cosmos.

**Author's Note:**

> On tumblr at [sholiofic](http://sholiofic.tumblr.com/) and [laylainalaska](http://laylainalaska.tumblr.com/)


End file.
